Wrapping machine



April 15, 1941. F. GLAssFoRD WRAPPING MACHINE Filed April 15, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Rm. m mm IM/FWA 6/ W m A p a iii/J? M \WJ 4 V W 4 4M a. a M 7 M 1H.W%II nI MfW W i Z i 4 "MM "2?. W2 MAY W flu M w V. u 0 m flfi o a 4 l/ W LY 4 o M x; 4 I a 9 0 Fr w/J H 1%, m J, |II|I 2 h April 15, 1941- F. GLASSFORD WRAPPING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 15, 1939 UH M m p M n a; a 4. M 6 H l/x fl/f 4 z W m M 7 2 M f: o W z 4 W w F, a n

mm m mom W m 4 UMT 1%AMA L GM 0 I M M Y Patented Apr. 15, 1941 WRAPPING MAOHIN E Fred Glassford, Royal Oak, Mich., assignor to Chrysler Corporation, Highland Park, Mich., a

corporation of Delaware Application April .15, 1939, Serial No. 268,150

Claims.

This invention relates to a wrapping machine and more particularly to a machine for wrapping a tape around a plurality of strands such as insulated wires used in the wiring system of an automobile.

An object of the invention is to provide a rotatable tape carrier surrounding the strands to be wrapped with vertically movable clamping means for drawing the strands through the machine during the wrapping operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tension means for the strands which keeps the strands taut as they are passed through the machine and to provide a stationary guide adjacent the point of wrapping to prevent the tape from drawing the strands out of their vertical path of travel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tape carrier which is rotatable on the machine and which is provided with a ring which is rotatable with the carrier and isrotatable relative to the carrier with friction means between the ring and carrier. Means are also provided on the ring to prevent relative rotation of the ring and a roll of tape carried by the ring and carrier.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of themachine shown in Fig. 1. r

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken on line III-III of Fig. 5 showing the supporting table and rotary tape supporting member in sec- Fig. 9 is a sectional view ofthe guide member taken on line IXIX of Fig. 10.

Fig. 10 is a plan view ofthe guide member i taken on line X-X of Fig. 1.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged View showing a plurality of wires grouped and partially wrapped.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the machine is preferably formed of a frame-like support I0 having a table l2 which is supported on the frame In by legs I4. A motor l6. preferably electric, may be supported on the frame 10 or, as shown, is supported on the floor adapted to drive a transmission mechanism [8 through a belt drive 20. The transmission is shown supported on the underside of the table l2 and is provided with a clutch mechanism 22 which is controlled by linkage 24 operated by a pedal 26.

At the rear edge of the table 12 are vertical supports 28 tied together by horizontally extending members 30 and 32, respectively. These members'are vertically adjustable on the supports 28 and locked in position by set screws 34. The horizontally extending member 30 is. provided with transversely extending arms which journal a chain gear 38. The horizontally extending member 30 is further provided with a forwardly extending arm 40 at one side thereof and an arm 42 for supporting bearings 44;

A vertically extending shaft 46 has its lower end journaled in a bearing in the table l2 and is in driving connection with the clutch 22 and transmission l8. The upper end of the shaft 46 is journaled in the end of the arm 40 and is provided with a worm 48 which drives worm gear 50, cross shaft 52, pinion 54, and gear 56 connected to the chain gear 38. The shaft 46 is driven by a gear 58 connected to the clutch 22 driving through idler gear 60 and gear 62 on the shaft 46.

Arms 64, carried by. the horizontally extending member 32, journal a shaft 66 which carries chain pulley 68. A continuous chain '10 is looped around the chain gear 38 and chain pulley 68.

At one point on the chain HL'a flexible member; such as a. leather strap 12, is secured thereto as at 14. The free end of the strap 12 has a wire holding member 16 secured thereto. The holding. member l6has its lower end provided with a bifurcated end with a serrated cam member 78 ivoted between the arms 80 of the bifurcated end. The cam 18 is spaced from the back wall of the. member 15 which spacing provides an opening for the reception of the wire or a plurality of wires 82 to be wrapped. When the wires are in the position shown in Fig. 3 the cam 18 can be swung toward the wires 82 and locked in position for following the chain H! during its travel. The wires 82 are pulled slowly upwardly through the machine during the wrapping operation.

In wrapping the wires 82 it is desirable to hold the wires'82 against any lateral movement caused by the pull of the tape. Such a guide is shown at 84 in Figs. 1 and 2 and is illustrated in detail in Figs. 9 and 10. This guide 84 is supported by an arm 86 which is vertically adjustable in a support 88 carried by the horizontally extending member 30, it being held in adjusted position by the set screw 90.

The support 84 comprises two semi-circular members 92 and 94 having cooperating recesses 95 which together form a circular, central opening 98. The members are each provided with a groove I08 which receives a semi-circular mem ber I02 fitting the groove I80 for sliding circumferentially. The members 92 and 94 are connected at one side by a link I04 which has its opposite ends pivotally connected to the members 92 and 94 by pins IE6. When the member I02 is in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 10 the two members 92 and 94 are locked together. When it is desired to open them to a position shown by the dotted lines, the member IE2 is slid so that its edge I08 is moved beyond the edges III). The parts can then be opened for inserting the wires 82 in the opening 98. A handle for sliding the member IE2 is shown at II2.

A tension holding device for the wires 82 is shown below the table I2 and in Figs. 7 and 8. A roller H4, preferably made in two halves, has its outer periphery grooved to receive the wires 82. Another roller II6 has its outer periphery formed to fit within the grooved roller H4. The roller H6 is pivotally supported on brackets H8. A yoke member I carries the roller HE and a handle I22 is provided for swinging the roller IIB into and out of engagement with the roller H4. A spring I24 resiliently urges the roller IIB toward the roller I M.

The roller H4 is rotatably supported between arms I26 on a pinion I28. A pair of shoes I39 are in frictional engagement with the roller H4 and are held thereagainst by a spring I32 which is adjustable by nut I33 to vary the amount of frictional resistance of the shoes I30. The shoes are pivotally supported on a pin I3 1. The wires 82 are fed between the rollers H4 and H6 as shown in Fig. 1.

Mounted on the table Ills a rotatable tape carrier I36 driven through a belt I38 by a pulley I40 connected to a shaft I42. The shaft I42 carries the gear 58 and is driven by the clutch 22. An idler pulley I44 is mounted on a bracket I46 which is secured to the table I2 by a bolt I48 passing through a slot I559. The bracket can be slid toward or away from the belt for adjusting the tension of the belt I38,

The tape carrier is held in position by an inner collar I52 which is detachably secured to the table I2 by screws I54. The collar I52 has an overhanging flange I56 for holding the carrier I36 in rotatable position on the table I2. A plate I58 is positioned on the carrier I36 and'is provided with an inner, upwardly extending flange I60. A ring I62 is mounted around the flange I60 for relative rotation with the plate I58 and is held in position by a detachable ring I54. Friction blocks I65 are mounted in recesses formed in the flange I80 which are urged into engagement with the inner periphery of the ring I62 by springs I558 held to the flange I60 by screw I'Ill. Vertically positioned knives I72 are arranged on the outer periphery of the ring 2 to engage the inner periphery of a roll of tape I'M.

As the tape comes off the roll I14 it is first fed around a spool IIB carried by the rotatable plate I58. It then passes another spool I78 carried by a bracket I82 at a higher .position than the spool H6. The spools I76 and H8 are tapered to permit the tape to follow a path above the roll of tape.

A tension device is shown in Fig. l. A roller I82 is carried by a plunger I84. A spring I86 urges the roller into engagement with the tape opposite to the spool I73. A handle I88 is provided for drawing the roller I82 away from the tape.

In the operation of the machine, the wires 82 are inserted through the center of the roll of tape I It. The roller I I6 is moved away from the pulley II; and the wires inserted between the two. The wires are then inserted in the guide 84 and the ends of the wires are locked to the holding member It. The operator then engages the clutch 22 through pedal 23 and the driving gears and belts above mentioned cause the carrier I36 to rotate in a direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 5. At the same time the chain Ill moves slowly in a direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2.

In wrapping a wiring harness such as used on an automobile the wires are of different length and the ends are not covered by the tape as indicated in Fig. 11. When approaching one of the loose ends the operator can easily hold the end at right angles to the main strand as indicated in Fig. 11 to prevent it from being wrapped.

The machine can be readily started and stopped for reloading or correction of the wrap-ping in the event of some error.

If it is desired to double wrap a portion of the wires the machine may be stopped and the gear 54 slid out of mesh with the gear 56 by handle I99, yoke I92 and collar I84 on the gear 54.

The machine is particularly adapted for wrapping a wiring harness for an automobile because of its design, permitting the operator to handle the wires as they pass through the machine and because it can be quickly started and stopped.

It will be understood that various changes including the size, shape and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention and it is not my intention to limit its scope other than by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A wrapping machine having an upper pulley, a lower pulley, a continuous looped member around said pulleys, a fastening device carried by said looped member, means for driving one of said pulleys, means for disengaging the driving connection to said pulley to permit free rotation of said pulley, a rotatable member having its axis arranged tangent to said lower pulley and at right angles to the axes of said pulleys, and means for driving said rotatable member at a speed greater than the speed of said pulleys.

2. A wrapping machine having a rotatable member for carrying a roll of tape, vertically movable means for drawing strands to be wrapped through the axis of said rotatable member, power means for driving said vertically movable means and said rotatable member, control means for said power means, manually operable means for connecting and disconnecting said power means with said vertically movable means independent of said power control means,

3. A tension means for wires to be wrapped in I a wrapping machine consisting of a pair of pulleys having their outer peripheries in contact at a point coincident with the axis of the wires, friction means in engagement with one of the pulleys to permit free rotation of said pulleys in 10 either direction, and a flexible member carried by said looped member for detachably engaging wires to be wrapped.

5. A guide member comprising a pair of semicircular members having cooperating recesses, a link pivotally connecting said members together to permit opening and closing of said members,

and a semi-circular member slidable in said recesses to lock the members in closed position.

FRED GLASSFORD. 

